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Sony has long been a dominant player in the digital camera field with their Mavica(tm) line of floppy-disk based cameras. At the high end of the market though, Sony has developed a compelling line of products, incorporating high-quality Zeiss optics and advanced features found on few competing camera models.

Late in 1999, Sony introduced a 2 megapixel design with an incredibly sharp 5x zoom lens by Carl Zeiss. The DSC-F505 was hugely popular, and Sony's problem seemed to be largely one of trying to satisfy the level of demand for the product. In early 2000, the 505 came into very short supply, with most dealers out of stock. This led to speculation that Sony was about to upgrade the unit. This was confirmed when Sony finally announced the F505V as the upgraded version.

The new model is somewhat unusual in its resolution specifications. The camera sports a 3.34 megapixel Sony CCD sensor chip (the same chip essentially everyone making 3 megapixel digicams is using at the moment), but only about 2.6 million of its pixels are actually being used. This reduced "effective pixel" count caused much speculation on the web as to what might account for it, but the answer in fact appears to be fairly simple: Rather than re-engineering the entire optomechanical system of the F505, Sony simply dropped the 3.34 MP sensor into the original body. As is commonly the case, the internal design of the camera was set up to mask the original 2.11 megapixel array slightly, to allow for dark-current calibration of the CCD. Some simple back-of-the-envelope calculations reveal that the same size mask applied to the 3.34 megapixel sensor would yield about 2.7 million "effective" pixels. Allowing for errors in the calculations due to different sensor geometry and layout of the active elements, a final pixel count of 2.6 million seems very reasonable.

We expected a strong performance for the F505V, given the excellent sharpness the original F505 showed. We were surprised though, to find that the 505V's resolution in fact challenges some of the "true" 3 megapixel cameras on the market. For more on this, see our "First Look" article on the camera, or our test results page.

What's New?As noted, the DSC-F505V is an update to the original (and hugely successful) DSC-F505. For those readers already familiar with the original DSC-F505, here are a few quick notes about the camera itself: Physically, it is identical to the original F505, which should please many of those who were been waiting to buy one of the earlier units, but couldn't find them on store shelves as it neared the end of its product life cycle. Beyond the case and optics though, Sony has added several significant enhancements to the electronics relative to the original model. We covered some of these in our "First Look" article, but have expanded on the list somewhat since then. Here's a quick rundown:

12 bit digitization: This is a pretty significant improvement, IOHO, borne out by the results we observed in our test subjects: The increased digitization accuracy has indeed resulted in significant improvements in subtle color and tonal rendering, particularly in strong highlights.

Improved aperture & shutter control: Another pretty significant improvement. The F505V has full 1/3 stop control over shutter and aperture, giving much more precise control over these exposure parameters.

External flash option: Supports the same (proprietary connection) HVL-F1000 external flash unit that we reviewed with the Sony S70. External flash was a frequently requested capability on the original DSC-F505.

TIFF file format option: The new F505V can save images in uncompressed TIFF format at all but the largest (interpolated) image size. - Another much-requested option.

Improved manual focus operation: This is a feature brought over from Sony's new "Y2K" Mavica line. Whenever you touch the focus ring on the new F505V in manual focus mode, the display immediately shifts to a magnified view. This makes it much easier to focus manually using the LCD for feedback. (Although the little in-focus indicator dot is still very welcome.)

Improved macro performance: The new DSC-F505V now focuses as close as 2cm, a significant improvement over the original F505's 8cm limit. (You do pay some price for this though, in the form of increased barrel distortion when you're that close.

Greatly improved low-light performance. The original F505 struggled to get down to light levels of 2 foot-candles (22 lux), while the new 505V works reasonably well all the way down to 1/8 of a foot-candle (~1.3 lux), and quite well at 1/4 of a foot-candle (2.7 lux). A very impressive improvement in performance!

Improved processing speed: The new camera electronics use a special Sony single-chip CPU design that eliminates the need for separate "scratchpad" and "buffer" memory. The result should be faster cycle times and (possibly) lower power consumption. The higher level of integration could also lead to lower levels of image noise. We were rather puzzled when we tested the F505V's cycle time then, and found it to actually be slower than the original 505, at roughly 6 seconds in highest-resolution mode, to the original's 3.5 seconds. (?)

Improved interpolation algorithm: One consequence of the increased processor horsepower appears to be that the Sony engineers could undertake much more sophisticated image preprocessing. Specifically, they were able to include a mode that interpolates the image data directly as it comes from the CCD array, rather than after it's gone through a JPEG process first. Sony's claim for this technique is that it improves detail rendition, and reduces image noise up to 16x. (Actually, the 16x claim is a little unclear, as it most likely also involves the impact of the improved digitization accuracy.)

Other than these changes, the new F505 functions virtually identically to the original. Other than specific performance issues, most of what follows will be a duplicate of our earlier DSC-F505 review.

Executive
OverviewGiven that we enjoyed the earlier DSC-F505 so much,
it's no surprise that we really liked the nearly identical design of the
DSC-F505V. The main differences between the two models lie in the larger 3.3
megapixel CCD (delivering an uninterpolated image size of 1856 x 1392 pixels, or
2240 x 1680 pixels with interpolation); better highlight detail and low light
performance; improved manual focusing, aperture and shutter controls; an
uncompressed TIFF format on all but the largest image sizes; and a wider range
of exposure compensation settings (from -2.0 to +2.0 in 1/3 EV increments);
among other improvements. One of our favorite aspects continues to be the
rotating lens which swings nearly 180 degrees. We also enjoyed the fact that the
tripod mount is placed on the bottom of the lens instead of the camera body,
meaning you can tilt the body up to make the LCD monitor more visible. Although
the lens notably prevents the camera from fitting into small pockets, the camera
body itself is one of the most compact we've seen, making it quite light weight.
(And the huge lens makes it an instant attention-getter, if you're into that
sort of thing...) The only viewfinder on the DSC-F505V is the LCD monitor on the
back panel, which offers brightness controls and a back light option directly
beneath it. We found the LCD monitor to be somewhat difficult to see in very
bright conditions (even with the back light function turned off as the manual
suggests) and would like to have had an optical viewfinder for reference in
those situations. That said, the LCD is much more visible in direct sunlight
than most. In very dark conditions though, the opposite situation prevails, with
not enough light reaching the CCD for it to produce a usable image in its
rapid-refresh "viewfinder" mode. (Overall, we'd really prefer to see some sort
of optical viewfinder as an adjunct.) For optics, the DSC-F505V comes with a
razor-sharp 7.1 to 35.5mm Carl Zeiss 5x zoom lens (equivalent to a 38 to 190mm
lens on a 35mm camera) with apertures from F/2.8 to F/8.0. Focus ranges from
0.5m to infinity in wide angle and from 2 cm to infinity in macro.

The
DSC-F505V can digitally zoom up to 2x (for an overall zoom ratio of 10x), but
keep in mind that the end result of digital zoom is a lower-resolution image. A
manual focus option allows you to focus the lens as you would a standard 35mm
camera by turning the notched bezel. Manual focus is especially helpful in macro
mode, which on the DSC-F505V captures subjects as close as 0.8 inches (2cm) to
the lens. An improvement that we especially appreciate here is that once you
begin turning the focus bezel, a magnified image appears on the LCD to assist in
fine tuning the focus. This is very helpful, since there is no distance readout
to assist you.

The DSC-F505V doesn't offer full manual exposure control,
but does give you moderate exposure control with its program AE modes (Aperture
Priority, Shutter Speed Priority, Twilight, Twilight Plus, Landscape and
Panfocus). Aperture Priority and Shutter Speed Priority are self explanatory,
letting you control the aperture or shutter speed while the camera adjusts the
other setting. Twilight mode helps you capture bright objects against darker
backgrounds, while Twilight Plus boosts the light sensitivity of the camera and
allows longer exposure times for nighttime photography. Landscape sets the focus
for far away subjects and Panfocus allows you to quickly switch focus from far
away to close up subjects (setting the lens to it's hyperfocal point?). The
pop-up flash on the DSC-F505V works from 11.9 inches to 8.3 feet (0.3 to 2.5m)
with choices of Auto (no LCD icon displayed, flash fires whenever the camera
thinks it needs it), Forced (flash always fires), Red-Eye Reduction (a small
pre-flash fires before the full flash to eliminate the Red-Eye Effect) and
Suppressed (flash never fires) modes. You can also control flash intensity via
the record menu with choices of High, Normal and Low. A new bonus on the F505V
is the external flash connection. You still have control over exposure
compensation through the record menu, but now with a wider range, from -2.0 to
+2.0 in 1/3 EV increments. White balance continues to offer four modes (Auto,
Indoors, Outdoors and One-Push). Auto, Indoors and Outdoors do exactly what
you'd expect and balance the white value for specific lighting conditions. We
enjoyed the flexibility of the One-Push mode, which adjusts the white balance
according to a white value that you establish, and found it able to handle
pretty extreme lighting conditions. There's also a 10 second self-timer and a
spot metering option for further versatility.

In addition to standard
exposure control, several picture effects let you manipulate images in the
camera, both before and after recording. Negative Art reverses the color and
brightness of the image. Sepia and Black & White change the image into
monochromatic tones. Solarize separates the light intensities in the image,
making it look more like an illustration. These are fun ways to infuse a little
creativity into your shots. Probably the most exciting feature on the DSC-F505V
is the ability to record short movies with sound. Movies can be recorded in
lengths of five, 10 and 15 seconds, depending on how you set it up. Three movie
formats are available: 320 x 240 HQ, 320 x 240 (standard quality) and 160 x 112.
You can also record short sound bytes to accompany your still images. We can
think of dozens of uses for this in everything from pure image organization to
documentation. Movie files are stored in the MPEG3 format

When it comes
to storing images, the DSC-F505V utilizes Memory Sticks. These tiny cards (about
the width of a stick of gum, but a bit shorter) come in 4MB, 8MB, 16MB, 32MB and
64MB sizes and are easily write protected with a sliding lock on the card
itself. The DSC-F505V runs on rechargeable InfoLITHIUM battery packs (S series)
or the A/C adapter (which doubles as the battery charger). We really like the
"gas gauge" function provided by the InfoLITHIUM system that shows remaining
battery charge in minutes of operation for whatever camera mode you happen to be
in. US and Japanese models of the DSC-F505V come with an NTSC A/V cable for
connection to a television set. (European versions presumably support the PAL
standard). Images and movies can be played back and composed using the TV as the
LCD monitor. The camera also comes with a USB cable for downloading images to a
computer. The included software CD contains PictureGear 3.2 Lite, which
basically allows you to download and play back captured images. Although no
photo manipulation software comes with the camera, Sony does offer ImageStation
on their website, which offers various Internet and printing capabilities.
Unfortunately for Mac users, the PictureGear software is only compatible with
Windows 95, 98 and NT 4.0 (although they do provide a USB driver for Macintosh,
so you should at least be able to download images).

Despite the slightly
quirky LCD and the limited software options, we really enjoyed this camera.
Combine the tack-sharp rotating lens with the movie capability and good exposure
control options, and you have a very versatile, simple to operate digicam
well-suited to both the average consumer and the photo enthusiast. The variety
of features and the overall flexibility make the DSC-F505V handy for the office,
home or anywhere. It's compact enough to be portable and feature-laden enough to
tackle almost any shooting situation. Overall, it's a fantastic upgrade to what
was already an excellent camera, the DSC-F505. We think you'll enjoy
it.

DesignThe DSC-F505V continues to be quite the
eye-catcher (as was the DSC-F505), and on the outside, the two cameras look like
identical twins. There are a number of differences between the older and newer
models though. The F505V provides the increased accuracy of 12 bit digitization,
which improves subtle tonal and color rendering, particularly in strong
highlight areas. It also offers improved aperture and shutter control with full
1/3 stops gives more precise adjustment. The DSC-F505V added an external flash
connection, which supports the HVL-F1000 external flash unit. Other improvements
include an optional uncompressed TIFF file format, improved manual focus
operation, faster processing speed and an improved interpolation algorithm for
better detail rendering and less noise.

The rotating lens definitely tops
our list for flexibility and innovation with its nearly 180 degree rotation. The
large lens dominates the design, and leads to a very different way of holding
the camera, but we very quickly became used to this. The large lens barrel
actually makes for very stable camera support, encouraging a two-handed grip,
and providing good support around the unit's center of gravity. Because the
tripod mount is actually located on the bottom of the lens, you can tilt the
body of the camera up for easier reading of the LCD monitor (no more leaning
over). What's more, the rotating lens gives you more shooting options as you can
point the lens straight up or nearly straight down, while still viewing the LCD
in a normal orientation. The magnesium alloy body remains relatively light
weight at 15 ounces (435g) without battery and memory stick. The bulk of the
weight lies in the lens. Dimension-wise, the DSC-F505V spans 4.25 x 2.5 x 5.4
inches (107.2 x 62.2 x 135.9 mm). Excluding the large lens, the body itself is
very compact. Although the size of the lens prevents it from fitting into small
pockets, its functionality well makes up for it. (We're a little confused by the
reference to the all-metal magnesium alloy body: Our test unit had a plastic
body, at least on the outside: Perhaps what Sony means is that the internal
structural body is made of magnesium alloy, although the outer "shell" is
plastic.)

The front of the camera basically features the shutter button (angled
down from the top a bit) and the lens. On the lens are the pop-up flash, tripod
mount, focus control and the macro, white balance and spot meter
buttons.

The camera back holds the LCD monitor, a few controls and the
external flash connector. There's also a small thumb grip attached to the
battery and Memory Stick slot cover.

The side of the camera opposite of the lens holds the Memory Stick
and battery compartment, both covered by a locking, sliding door.

The lens itself carries a number of controls on its side, readily
accessible to your left hand, which will normally cradle the lens for
support.

The remaining controls live on the top of the camera, and include a
mode dial, power switch, zoom lever and microphone. The USB and A/V out jacks
are also on top of the camera, beneath a sliding cover that flips up to
open.

The bottom of the camera is pretty nondescript except for the sound
playback speaker and two small rubber pads that cushion the camera slightly when
set on a hard surface. As we mentioned earlier, the tripod mount is actually
located on the underside of the lens barrel.

Viewfinder Sony again left
off the optical viewfinder on the DSC-F505V, eliminating the option to save
battery power by not using the LCD. The LCD monitor itself is an unusual two
inch TFT hybrid variety with a total resolution of 122,980 (559 x 220) pixels.
Two LCD buttons (- and +) no longer control the brightness of the display, as
they did in the DSC-F505. These buttons now adjust the volume in playback mode
and the apeture/shutter speed in AE mode...more on this later. (However, an
option does exist in the menus to alter the LCD brightness). A Display button to
the left of the monitor turns the information and menu display on and off
(helpful when you're trying to compose an image).

The LCD monitor used on the DSC-F505V is rather unusual, in
that it's a "hybrid" transmissive/reflective design. That is, it can operate
normally (transmissive), with the backlight panel providing the illumination you
view the image with. It also provides a reflective mode, where it works by
reflecting light from the surroundings back at the user. This works reasonably
well in very bright direct-sunlit situations, where a backlit LCD would be
completely useless. In these situations, you can switch the backlight completely
off, and rely on the ambient light to view the LCD by. The downside of this LCD
design is that there seems to be an intermediate range of ambient light levels
where neither the reflective or transmissive modes work very well. We thus found
the LCD rather difficult to view in medium-bright outdoor
settings.
OpticsThe
lens on the DSC-F505V is clearly something special, as evidenced by its size and
mass. The DSC-F505V comes equipped with a 7.1 to 35.5 mm Carl Zeiss lens
(equivalent to a 38 to 190mm lens on a 35mm camera) and a wonderful5x
optical zoom. Apertures range from F/2.8 to F/8.0 in 1/3 stop increments, and
are automatically controlled (except in Aperture Priority mode). Focus ranges
from 0.5m (~19 inches) to infinity in wide angle and from 0.08m (2 inches) to
infinity in macro. An additional 2x digital zoom function (10x total zoom) can
be turned on and off via the record menu, but remember that quality is always an
issue with digital enlargement. The Focus switch on the side of the lens gives
the option of manual focus, which can be adjusted by turning the bezel on the
end of the lens (like a standard 35mm camera lens). When using the manual focus
option, the camera provides you with a small focus-feedback indicator on the LCD
screen, showing when you've attained optimum focus. Although there are no
distance markings or readouts anywhere on the camera that would guide you in
situations were the focus-determination system may not work, an improvement on
the F505V includes a quick magnification of the central focusing area for more
fine tuning. We really liked the feel of a digicam with a manual focus option
that really works like that on a standard 35mm camera lens. As it turns out, the
same focus indicator used in manual focus mode also appears while using
autofocus, and is quite handy for determining whether or not the camera has
achieved a good "lock" on the focus. As you'd expect from the Carl Zeiss name,
the F505's lens is tack-sharp (a prominent feature of the original F505),
although we did find some barrel and pincushion distortion at the ends of its
zoom range. (See the "Test Results" section at the end of the review for the
details on this).

The Macro function of the DSC-F505V is controlled via
the Macro button on the side of the lens and allows you to capture objects as
close as 0.8 inches (2cm) from the lens. Macro is not available in the Landscape
and Panfocus modes. As we mentioned in the Design section, the rotating lens is
definitely a winner. (We've had a personal bias toward rotating-lens designs
ever since we first saw them 'lo these many years ago). Rotating through about
135 degrees, the lens greatly multiplies your shooting options, and is
especially handy for grabbing ground-level macro shots or when holding the
camera above your head to shoot over a crowd. Additionally, with the tripod
mount on the bottom of the lens barrel, you have greater flexibility when
mounted to a tripod for tilting the camera back for easier viewing. Sony offers
both wide and telephoto converters as accessories for the DSC-F505V which mount
over the lens, using the 52mm filter threads.
ExposureThe
DSC-F505V offers almost exclusively automatic exposure control with the
exception of flash mode selection, exposure compensation (EV) and white balance.
There are, however, some program AE modes that allow you to achieve particular
effects: Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed Priority, Twilight, Twilight Plus,
Landscape and Panfocus. A mode dial on top of the camera designates whether
you're shooting in Movie or Still mode.

FlashThe pop-up flash on the DSC-F505V covers a range
from 11.9 inches to 8.3 feet (0.3 to 2.5m) with choices of Auto (no icon),
Red-Eye Reduction (which we were glad to see added), Forced and Suppressed
operating modes. Auto lets the camera decide when to fire the flash, based on
existing lighting conditions. Red-Eye Reduction tells the camera to fire a small
pre-flash before firing the full flash to reduce the Red-Eye Effect. Forced
means that the flash always fires, regardless of light, and Suppressed simply
means that the flash never fires. Flash intensity can be manually controlled via
the record menu with choices of High, Normal and Low. The flash on the DSC-F505V
appears to be color-balanced to tungsten (incandescent) lighting, as evidenced
both by the yellowish filter that covers the flash window, and by the results we
obtained in our own tests. Our tests supported Sony's stated maximum flash range
of 8.3 feet, showing good illumination to 9 feet or more. A definite plus on the
F505V model is the inclusion of an external flash connection, which greatly
increases your flash photography options. (Note though, that the flash
connection on the F505V is a proprietary one, requiring use of the dedicated
Sony HVL-F1000 external flash unit. You could certainly slave additional
external strobes to this one via an optical slave unit, but the main flash will
need to be a HVL-F1000.)

Exposure Compensation (EV)Exposure
Compensation on the DSC-F505V is also controlled through the record menu,
manually adjustable from -2.0 to +2.0 in 1/3 EV increments. We were very glad to
see this increased exposure compensation range (the previous F505 was only
adjustable from -1.5 to +1.5 in 0.5 EV increments).

White
BalanceYou have four white balance modes available on the DSC-F505V:
Auto, Indoor, Outdoor and One-Push. Auto puts the camera in control. Indoor and
Outdoor adjust for artificial (incandescent) and natural lighting, just as they
sound. One-Push adjusts the white balance depending on the light source, meaning
that you set the white value by placing a white sheet of paper in front of the
lens. Sony suggests using the Auto setting when shooting under fluorescent
lighting as opposed to the Indoor setting, for more accurate results. We found
that the automatic white balance option produced the best results under normal
conditions, but the One-Push option handled extreme color casts much better.
(Preset white-balance features like the F505V's One-Push option also allow you
to introduce deliberate color casts into your images in a very controlled
fashion: Simply use an off-white target to set the One-Push white balance
setting, and the subsequent shots will have a color cast opposite to that of the
target. For example, a slightly yellowish One-Push target will produce a bluish
cast in your final image.)

Picture EffectThe Picture Effect
option in the record menu allows you to use a little creativity when composing
images. Negative Art reverses the color and brightness of the image. Sepia and
Black & White change the image into monochromatic tones. Solarize clarifies
the light intensity of the image, making it look more like an illustration. Note
that these options are "live" in record mode, so you get a preview of the effect
on the LCD monitor before you snap the image.

Program AE
ModesThe Program AE (AutoExposure) option under the record menu allows
you to exercise a little additional control over your exposure. Aperture
Priority mode lets you select an aperture value from F/2.8 to F/8.0. Shutter
Priority gives you control over shutter speed while the camera chooses the
aperture. Shutter speed ranges from eight to 1/1000 seconds in both NTSC and PAL
modes. Twilight mode suppresses the blurring of colors on a bright subject in a
dark place, allowing you to record the subject without losing the dark
atmosphere of the surroundings. Twilight Plus simply takes the previous setting
a little further. Landscape mode sets focus for distant subjects and Panfocus
allows you to change focus on subjects quickly from close up to far away. (We
confess to being rather confused by the Twilight and Panfocus modes, as the
manual provided virtually no detail on their operation.)

Spot
MeteringThe DSC-F505V normally determines exposure by measuring the
brightness of the entire image and taking an average. The spot metering option
changes this to a heavily center weighted spot, useful for backlit subjects or
compositions with strong contrast. Spot metering is quickly turned on and off
via a button on the side of the lens.

Self-TimerThe self-timer
function on the DSC-F505V gives you 10 seconds from the time the shutter button
is fully pressed until the shutter fires. The timer is accessed under the record
menu and a flashing LED on the front of the camera gives you countdown
status.

Movies and SoundThe DSC-F505V has a few options for
recording sound and movie files. Under the record menu, the Voice option allows
you to record quick sound bytes to accompany a still image. To record an actual
movie with sound, simply switch the mode dial to the Movie option. Movies can be
recorded in preset 5, 10 and 15 second increments, based on the Record Time Set
feature in the record menu. Based on the preset, recording continues as long as
the shutter button is held down. The DSC-F505V gives you three image
size/quality settings for movies: 320 HQ, 320x240 and 160x112. Sony notes that
moving images will show up notably softer than still images. Both the self-timer
and photo effects capabilities are available in Movie mode, as is the exposure
compensation (EV) setting.

Shutter Lag/Cycle TimesWhen you press the
shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time before the shutter
actually fires. This time allows the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time
to do their work and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since
this number is almost never reported on, and can significantly affect the
picture taking experience, we now routinely measure it using a special
electronic test setup.

As we mentioned earlier, the F505V apparently
features increased image-processing power, in that the camera electronics use a
special Sony single-chip CPU design which eliminates the need for separate
"scratchpad" or "buffer" memory. The result should be faster cycle times and
lower power consumption. In our actual tests however, we found the F505V to be
somewhat slower than the earlier model from shot to shot.

Switching from
Play to Record mode took about 3.68 seconds. Going from Record to Play in the
VGA resolution took about 1.2 seconds while doing the same in the maximum
resolution setting took about 5.3 seconds. The camera took about 7.2 seconds to
get ready for the first picture after being switched on and effectively 0.0
seconds to switch off (because there's no need to wait for the lens to retract
or anything else).

Shutter lag with full autofocus operation on the F505V
is quite variable, depending on the camera-subject distance: At greater shooting
distances, the lag time is about 1.6 seconds. In macro shooting situations
though, the shutter lag stretches to 2.3 seconds. When manual focus is used, the
lag time drops to about 1.3 seconds, while prefocusing by half-pressing the
shutter button before actually shooting the picture reduces lag time to about
0.4 seconds. (The slightly shorter time using prefocus is likely because the
prefocus operation takes care of the automatic white balance function as well.)
All of the F505V's shutter lag timings are somewhat slow relative to the rest of
the 3MP field: This is an area we'd like to see improved in future versions of
this product. Here's a table summarizing our results:

DSC-F505V Timings

Operation

Time (secs)

Notes

Power On ->
First shot

7.2

Shutdown

0

No time required for lens
retraction...

Play to Record,
first shot

3.68

Time is delay until first shot
captured.

Record to play
(max/min res)

5.3/1.2

Slower for max res images

Shutter lag, full
autofocus

1.6

Shutter lag,
macro-mode autofocus

2.3

Shutter lag, manual
focus

1.3

Shutter lag,
prefocus

0.4

As noted above, cycle times on the F505V were actually somewhat
slower than those on the original F505. We were a bit puzzled by this, since the
505V supposedly has a faster CPU inside it. It's of course having to deal with
more data than did the 505's CPU, but we still expected to see some improvement.
(One possibility is that the expanded 12-bit digitization accuracy and the
increased processing associated with the more sophisticated tonal compression
that this permits results in a significantly higher processor load.) In any
event, cycle time at maximum resolution and quality was about 5.0 seconds in the
best case and about 6.0 seconds on average. In minimum resolution, cycle times
stayed around 5.0 seconds. Getting the minimum cycle time out of the camera was
a bit frustrating though, because if you hit the shutter button and hold it down
before the camera is ready to shoot again, the F505V completely ignores your
actions. It won't take a picture in this situation unless you let up on the
shutter button and then press it again, making it a bit of a gamble to figure
out when to press the shutter button to get the fastest response. We'd
really like to see a design that notes whether the shutter button is
pressed as soon as it's done processing each shot, and immediately grabs the
next image if it is. - This business of insisting that you must first let up on
the shutter button is really nonsensical. (Not to unfairly single-out Sony for
this, as we've seen the behavior on other cameras as well: It's only that we've
just now decided to mount a campaign against this particular camera behavior,
and Sony is the first manufacturer to be blessed with our attention in this
area. ;-) Again, here is a table summarizing our cycle time
measurements.

DSC-F505V Zoom Cycle Times/Frame
Rates

Mode

Time(secs)

Frame Rate(frames/sec)

Notes

TIFF
Autofocus

n/a

n/a

(Sorry, we
neglected to measure cycle time for TIFF images!)

High resolution,
autofocus

5.0-6.0

~0.18

Cycle time was variable, from 5-6
seconds.

High resolution,
manual focus

4.5-5.5

~0.2

Again variable, only slightly
faster.

Minimum resolution,
autofocus

5.0

0.2

Consistent cycle time at low
res.

Movie
Mode

0.067

15

User InterfaceThe user interface on the
DSC-F505V has a comfortable feel with clear operation, as did the previous
DSC-F505. Buttons and controls are well marked and accessible, although people
with large hands may feel as we did that the right-hand controls are a little
cramped. You could conceivably operate the camera with just one hand, but the
weight of the lens begs for two, and a two-handed grip provides excellent
camera-platform stability. Also, while the user interface was very easy to
understand, we found some of the menu navigation more laborious than we'd have
liked, requiring multiple control actuations to navigate to the desired setting.
Here's a look at the major buttons and controls:

Shutter ButtonLocated on
the top/front of the camera, this button sets focus and exposure when halfway
pressed and fires the shutter when fully pressed.

Mode DialLocated on top of
the camera, this dial selects between the following modes:

Play: puts the camera into playback mode.

Still: sets the camera for capturing still images.

Movie: sets the camera for recording short movies with sound.

Power
SwitchLocated on top of the camera, directly behind the microphone, this
switch turns the camera on and off.

Pop-Up Flash SwitchLocated on the side of the
lens, directly beneath the pop-up flash, this sliding switch pops up the
built-in flash.

Focus ControlLocated on the side of the lens, this
sliding switch puts the camera in either Auto or Manual focus mode. In manual
focus mode, the lens is focused via the very standard-looking (and feeling)
focusing ring on its front. Focus is indicated by a small >0< icon in the
LCD viewfinder.

Macro ButtonLocated on the side of the lens, to the
right of the Focus control, this button turns Macro mode on and off.

White Balance/One-Push
ButtonsLocated directly to the right of the Macro button on the side of
the lens, this button selects the white balance mode:

Auto: lets the camera set the white balance depending on lighting.

Indoor: sets white balance for indoor, artificial lighting.

Outdoor: sets white balance for natural lighting.

One-Push: allows you to set white balance based on specific lighting
(using a white surface as a reference). This mode uses the small One Push
button (seen in the image above) below and to the right of the white balance
button itself. You set the white balance in this mode by pointing the camera
at a white surface and pressing the One Push button.

Spot Metering
ButtonLocated on the side of the lens, directly to the right of the
White Balance button, this button turns the spot metering function on and off.
When spot metering is enabled, a small "+" sign appears in the center of the
viewfinder, centered in the active metering area.

Zoom
LeverLocated on the top/back of the camera, marked with a 'W' and 'T',
this sliding lever controls the optical and digital zoom (when turned
on).

Flash
ButtonLocated on the back panel of the camera, marked with the
traditional flash symbol, this button controls the following flash modes:

Auto: puts the camera in control of the flash mode.

Red-Eye Reduction: fires a small pre-flash before firing the full flash to
reduce the Red-Eye occurrence.

Forced: the flash always fires, regardless of light levels.

Suppressed: the flash never fires, regardless of lighting conditions.

Program AE
ButtonLocated on the back panel of the camera, directly beneath the
Flash button, this button accesses the following Program AE modes:

Aperture Priority: allows you to set the aperture from F/2.8 to F/8.0 in
1/3-stop increments while the camera controls shutter speed.

Shutter Speed Priority: allows you to set the shutter speed from eight to
1/1000 seconds while the camera controls the aperture.

Twilight: suppresses the blurring of colors on bright subjects with dark
backgrounds. (?? We confess we really didn't understand this one - It sounds
as though it's a contrast-reduction to preserve color in bright objects,
whilst not underexposing the background too much.)

Menu /
Rocker Toggle Button Located beneath the Program AE button, this rocker
toggle button has four arrows (up, down, left and right) and a center dot. In
all modes, the arrows navigate through menus and the center dot acts as the OK
for menu options. In Play mode, the left and right arrow buttons scroll through
images. Pressing the down arrow dismisses both the play and record menus while
the up arrow recalls them again.

Display Button Located beneath the rocker
toggle button on the back panel of the camera, this button dismisses and recalls
the information display on the LCD monitor.

LCD Buttons (- and
+)Located directly beneath the LCD monitor, these buttons no longer
control the brightness of the LCD display as they did in the F505. In order to
control brightness, you must now go to the Setup options under the individual
menus (see more below.) In Shutter and Aperture Priority modes, these buttons
control the shutter speed and aperture settings, in addtion to the sound volume
while in the Play mode.

LCD Back Light
SwitchAlso located directly beneath the LCD monitor, this switch turns
the LCD back light on and off to assist in power conservation (albeit only
slightly), or to accommodate varying ambient light levels (a more significant
effect).

Camera Modes and Menus

ModeAccessed by turning the mode
dial to the Play position, this mode allows you to play back captured images and
movies along with their accompanying sounds. Pressing the Menu button brings up
the Play menu with the following options:

Index: displays the captured images six to a screen.

Delete: deletes individual images.

File: offers
the following selections:

Format: formats the Memory Stick.

Print Mark: marks the image for printing.

Protect: protects selected images from accidental deletion or
alteration. (NOTE that this offers no protection against the Format option
above though!)

Tool: offers the following options:

Copy: copies displayed image to another Memory Stick.

Resize: resizes images to 2240x1680, 1856x1392, 1280x960 or
640x480 with an option to cancel.

Setup:
offers the following setup selections:

Video Out: selects between NTSC and PAL video formats.

Language: selects between English and Japanese.

Clock Set: sets the camera date and time.

Beep: turns the camera beep on and off.

LCD Bright: adjusts the brightness of the LCD.

ModeAccessed by turning the mode dial to the Still position, this mode
allows you to capture still images. Pressing the Menu button brings up the
record menu with these options:

Self-Timer: activates the self-timer mode, which counts down from
10 seconds once the shutter button is fully pressed.

Effect: offers the following image effects:

Neg. Art: reverses color and brightness on the image.

Sepia: records all tones in monochromatic sepia. (A range of tans
and browns, rather than grays.)

B&W: records the image in monochromatic black and white.

Solarize: alters the image to look more like an illustration.

Date/Time: turns on and off the date and time time-stamp on an
image. When enabled, the date or date & time will be overlaid on the
image in every photo, in small red letters in the lower right-hand
corner.

File: offers
the following file selections:

Format: formats the Memory Stick.

Pos. Sensor: Enables an internal camera-position sensor. When
enabled, captured images are stored so as to appear vertically on the LCD
(or on the computer after download), regardless of whether the camera was
used in normal "landscape" orientation, or rotated 90 degrees to the right
or left for a "portrait-format" shot. (Very handy!)

Rec Mode: selects between TIFF, Text (for recording white boards
and documents), Voice (records 5-second sound bytes with each picture),
E-Mail (for 320 x 240 JPEG images) and Normal. All modes besides "normal"
record a standard JPEG copy of the image in addition to the specially sized
or formatted-image corresponding to that mode. (That is, when TIFF is
selected, every picture results in two files being saved to the Memory
stick: One normal JPEG, and one in TIFF format.)

Camera: sets
the following exposure options:

Digital Zoom: turns the 2x digital zoom function on and off. When
turned on, the zoom indicator in the record-mode display is extended to show
a wider zoom range, with a small vertical white bar part way across
indicating the end of normal optical zoom action and the beginning of the
digital zoom range. Digital zoom occurs smoothly, rather than in the 2x jump
common to many digicams. This lets you select exactly the amount of digital
zoom you'd like, minimizing the image-quality tradeoff digital zoom always
brings.

Sharpness: adjusts the image sharpness from -2 to +2 (five
available settings).

Demo (When plugged into AC adapter only): Cycles through a
demonstration of many of the F505V's key capabilities. (Once demo mode is
activated, the only way to exit it is to turn the camera off.)

Video Out: selects between NTSC and PAL formats.

Language: selects between English and Japanese.

Clock Set: sets the camera date and time.

Beep: turns the camera beep on and off.

LCD Bright: adjusts the brightness of the LCD.

Image Storage and Interface The DSC-F505V utilizes Sony's unique
(and thus far largely proprietary) Memory Stick for its image storage. A (rather
undersized) 8MB card came with our evaluation unit, although we don't know what
size will ship in the box with the final production models: Additional units
are available in 8MB, 16MB, 32MB and 64MB sizes. The Memory Stick has been the
subject of some controversy within the digicam community, with many people (ourselves
included) initially asking why on earth we needed yet another memory card format
for digital cameras. It's bad enough (the argument goes) that we have to contend
with the completely incompatible SmartMedia and CompactFlash standards, why
must Sony introduce yet another format into the fray?

However, after all our testing, we actually found ourselves liking the Memory
Stick the most. We're still not keen to see yet another memory format muddying
the waters for consumers, but have to admit that there's a lot to like about
the Memory Stick form factor. Relative to SmartMedia, it feels more rugged,
and doesn't expose it's electrical contacts to the environment quite as much.
Since insertion travel is much less, it should also be less subject to rubbing
wear of the plating on the contacts, something we've observed with SmartMedia.
Relative to CompactFlash, it's a fair bit more compact, and doesn't have the
dozens of pins that CF requires. (We're firmly of the opinion that the fewer
connections there are, the less chances there are for something to go wrong
with one of them.)

We also like the way the Memory Stick cards can be write-protected by sliding
a tiny switch on their back. (CF cards have no such physical write-protection
available, and SmartMedia cards require the use of expendable conductive foil
dots that are also subject to failure due to dirt or fingerprints.) While we
don't expect the rest of the world to jump onboard the Memory Stick bandwagon
anytime soon, we do feel that it's at least a viable and useful solution within
the Sony product line.

The DSC-F505V gives you five resolution options (2240 x 1680 (interpolated),
1856 x 1392, 1856 (3:2), 1280 x 960 and 640 x 480), and standard image quality/compression
at each image size. The uncompressed TIFF option is available for all but the
2240 x 1680 image size. An additional option of 320x240 pixels at high compression
is available in the "email" mode, which we didn't evaluate in our testing. All
options are accessible through the record menu. In video mode, image sizes of
320 x 240 and 160 x 112 are available (with an option for a 320 x 240 HQ mode).

Sony took some knocks on the internet shortly after their announcement of the
F505V, for their use of interpolation to produce a large image size with more
pixels in it than contained on the active CCD sensor area. Interpolation has
become such anathema to digicam owners that any mention of its use on
cameras brings immediate catcalls and derision. The fact that the F505V carries
a "3.3 megapixel" label on the side of its lens barrel (referring to the total
sensor size, even though only 2.6 megapixels are actually used) further inflamed
the issue. Fortunately, Sony was overall very forthright about how the camera
operates, how many pixels are actually in use, and has been very responsible
in their labeling of the product packaging, right down to the "hang tag" that
is attached to the unit in retail displays. The other saving grace is that the
F505V produces such sharp images that it actually bests some of the "true" 3
megapixel cameras on the market! (See our "First Look"
review for further details on this, including comparison pictures.) As for
the largest image size, we did indeed see a slight improvement in visible detail
relative to simply interpolating the 1:1 image size (the 1856 x 1392 pixel size)
in Photoshop(tm) using bicubic spline interpolation: There thus does appear
to be some merit (albeit slight) to Sony's much-touted interpolation method
that works directly from the raw sensor data, rather than from the final processed
file. For ourselves, we personally would probably be content to save memory
space and just use the 1856 x 1392 pixel image size for most of our shots, rather
than looking for the last iota of resolution the interpolated images deliver.
At the bottom line though, even the uninterpolated images hold their own very
well even against the current crop of 3 megapixel competitors.

Turning back to the storage medium again, you can protect individual images
on the Memory Stick from accidental erasure (except from formatting) through
the setup menu on the DSC-F505V. As noted above, the entire Memory Stick can
be write protected by sliding the lock switch on the card into the lock position.
Write protection also prevents the Memory Stick from being formatted. An 8MB
Memory Stick accommodates up to 80 seconds of video in Presentation format (320
x 240 pixels) and up to about 320 seconds in Video Mail format (160 x 112 pixels).
Here's a look at the average capacity of an 8MB card for still images:

Resolution/Quality vs Image
Capacity

Uncompressed Quality

Normal Quality

High
Resolution(2240x1680)

Images

0

5

Approx. Compression

n/a

8:1

Standard
Resolution(1856x1392)

Images

1

6

Approx. Compression

1:1

6:1

Low
Resolution(1280x960)

Images

2

13

Approx. Compression

1:1

6:1

VGA
Resolution(640x480)

Images

8

130

Approx. Compression

1:1

15:1

Note that the DSC-F505V differs from most digicams (but is similar to
other Sony models) in that it doesn't tell you what the remaining image capacity
is. Instead, it tells how many images have been taken and provides a graphic
"thermometer bar" type image of the Memory Stick as the space fills
up.

The DSC-F505V interfaces to a host computer via a USB interface. We
timed the USB transfer of a movie file at 14.8 seconds for 5,359 KBytes. That
translates to 362 KB/second, a very reasonable transfer rate for a 2.6 megapixel
digicam.

Video Out US and Japanese models of the DSC-F505V come with an NTSC A/V cable
for connecting the camera to a television set (European models come with PAL
connectors). You can switch the camera between NTSC and PAL modes via the record
menu. All of the playback options are available through the video port, so you
can view a slide show of still images or watch your recorded movies with sound.
You can also use the television set as an enlarged version of the LCD monitor
when composing images, helpful when trying to manually focus macro shots, or
in a studio environment where you may need to get out from behind the camera
to work with the subject.

Power The battery power system is
one of the real highlights of the DSC-F505V in our opinion: The DSC-F505V runs
from an InfoLITHIUM battery pack (S series), which is rechargeable. The camera
comes with one battery and a charger/AC adapter. Sony estimates that a fully
charged battery pack provides about 80 minutes of recording and about 116 minutes
of playback time. The accompanying AC adapter plugs directly into the battery
compartment and is heavily recommended when playing back recorded images or
downloading to a computer. So what's the big deal about the batteries? Two things:
First, Lithium cells don't self-discharge the way NiMH batteries do. This means
that you can charge up the battery, stick the camera in a drawer for a month,
and find the battery still fully charged when you pick it up again. The second
BIG plus has to do with the "Info" in InfoLITHIUM. - Each battery pack includes
a tiny "gas gauge" chip in it, which tracks how much power is flowing in or
out of the battery. The camera talks to this chip, and between the two of them,
they figure out how long the battery's remaining charge will last at the current
consumption rate. This is really great!

We've so often picked up one of our cameras and wondered how fresh the batteries
are before setting out. Even starting with fresh batteries, we've more than
once ended up with the batteries dying on us right in the middle of the best
shooting conditions, at the peak of the action, etc. (A corollary of Murphy's
Law is clearly that your digicam batteries will always die at the worst possible
moment.) Being able to see how many minutes of life the battery has left in
it makes it easy to prevent these sort of mishaps. (And we found the indicator
to be pretty accurate overall.) We couldn't conduct as extensive power measurements
on the DSC-F505V as we usually do with digicams we test, because the camera
wouldn't stay running if it couldn't see the InfoLITHIUM chip. Nonetheless,
we can report the following battery life numbers, based on the InfoLITHIUM battery's
own power-remaining reporting with a full charge:

Operating Mode

Operating Time

Capture Mode,
w/LCD

79 minutes

Image
Playback

113 minutes

Included Software The DSC-F505V comes
with USB cables for connecting to a PC or Macintosh. A software CD packaged with
the camera contains PictureGear 3.2 Lite, the means for transferring images from
the camera to the computer. PictureGear is a basic program that allows you to
download images, copy images, zoom display, print slides and play movies.
PictureGear is compatible only with Microsoft Windows 95, 98 or NT4.0 only. Sony
does include a USB driver CD compatible with Macintosh, so you can download
images to a Mac without the PictureGear software. (This information is based on
the original F505 model, we're assuming the F505V version will be the
same.

Test ResultsIn keeping with our
standard policy, our comments here are rather condensed, summarizing our key
findings: For a full commentary on each of the test images, see the DSC-F505V's "pictures" page.

As with all Imaging
Resource camera tests, we encourage you to let your own eyes be the judge of how
well the devices performed: Explore the images on the pictures page, to see how well the DSC-F505V performed,
and how its images compare to other cameras you may be considering
buying.

Overall, the DSC-F505V produced really excellent pictures: Color
was quite good, with appropriate saturation of strong primaries, but good
handling of pastels as well. Overall color accuracy was very high, with only a
slight weakness in the bright yellows. Tonal range was really excellent as well,
with good shadow detail and unusually good handling of detail in strong
highlights.

As noted previously in this review, the big story of the
DSC-F505V is immediately evident when you first cast eyes on the camera: The
lens! In shot after shot, we were consistently impressed with how sharp the
Zeiss lens was, all the more impressive for its long 5x zoom ratio. A downside
of the long-ratio zoom though, is the geometric distortion we found at extreme
focal lengths: We measured barrel distortion of 0.74% in wide-angle mode, and
pincushion distortion of 0.87% in telephoto mode. (These numbers were shifted
slightly toward the pincushion side of the scale, relative to our earlier tests
of the original DSC-F505. Total distortion is about the same overall though.)
These are far from the worst distortion numbers we've seen in digicam lenses,
but do stand out a little, relative to the lens' extraordinary sharpness.
Chromatic aberration was good, at only abut 0.03%, but we found a little "coma"
in the extreme corners of the image. We're perhaps being a little harsh in the
extent to which we're calling attention to the distortions and aberrations of
the F505V's lens, as we don't normally highlight lens distortions in this
summary section to this degree. Our reason for doing so here is that we've been
so completely over the top on the lens' sharpness that we wanted to avoid
accusations of bias, or that we overlooked its (relatively minor) defects. Our
overall judgment is that this is indeed an exceptional digicam lens, but people
using the F505 for architectural work will probably want to investigate the new
distortion-correcting features of the PhotoGenetics
software we've previously reviewed.

In our resolution tests, the
DSC-F505V performed significantly better than it's predecessor and other 2
megapixel cameras we've tested, better than some 3 megapixel cameras, but just a
bit off the best of the 3 megapixel crowed. We "called" the visual resolution at
750-800 lines per picture height in the vertical direction, and 800-850 in the
horizontal, a very good performance indeed.

Its no secret we missed the
optical viewfinder on the DSC-F505V: It's LCD viewfinder is more accurate than
most, showing just about 94% of the final image area, but we'd have appreciated
100% accuracy in it. Also, while the hybrid transmissive/reflecting LCD is more
visible in direct sunlight than any purely transmissive designs we've seen,
there's a range of intermediate brightness levels in which the LCD is rather
difficult to see, whether the backlight is on or off. Given the camera's greatly
improved low light capability, some sort of optical viewfinder is sorely needed
for those situations where there just isn't enough light to produce a bright
viewfinder display at the high refresh rate required by the LCD.

The
DSC-F505V performs quite well in macro mode, with a minimum capture area of only
0.85 x 0.64 inches (21.54 x 16.15 mm). Closest focusing occurs in wide-angle
mode, which also introduces a fair bit of barrel distortion. (Not measured, but
our impression is that there's more distortion than we saw in the viewfinder
test, shot at greater distances.) Of course, the macro capability can be easily
extended by adding accessory lenses using the 52mm filter threads on the front
of the lens...

Low light performance was perhaps the area showing the
most dramatic improvement relative to the earlier DSC-F505. The new 505V model
can capture images in light levels as low as 1/8 of a foot-candle (~1.3 lux),
and produce genuinely usable ones at levels of only 1/4 of a foot-candle (~2.7
lux). This is an excellent performance, considering that city night scenes under
typical street lighting correspond to a brightness level of about 1 foot-candle
(11 lux).

Overall though, we were very impressed with the DSC-F505V: It
takes razor-sharp pictures with excellent color, and the 5x zoom ratio on the
lens is a very nice feature. The new CCD and improved digitization accuracy
really show in the improved highlight detail it captures and the excellent
low-light performance.

ConclusionWith
the DSC-F505V's unique rotating lens and its movie recording capabilities, you
get a fun camera that takes great pictures too. The sharpness of the Carl Zeiss
optics show in the final images, and we really like the "real camera"
manual-focus option (although we'd really like to see some sort of
optical viewfinder, even if only a "gunsight" on the top of the lens barrel).
The full 5x optical zoom is a big plus that we wish more manufacturers would
adopt. While not going quite all the way to full manual exposure control
(another feature we keep pushing for), the F505V provides a range of options,
including both aperture and shutter-priority exposure programs, spot metering,
and an optional preset white-balance setting. Plus, the new model has the added
bonus of a larger CCD which delivers a larger (though interpolated) image size
and significantly improved highlight detail and low light capability. Overall, a
razor-sharp performer for the camera buff, but easy enough for beginners to use
in full-auto mode. A very worthwhile upgrade to an already-excellent digicam!
Highly recommended.